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Sheikh Mohammed tops Twitter trends in 2020

Dubai - Dubai Ruler takes to social media to inspire people and to update residents on the latest developments in the country.

The UAE is ending 2020 the way it started it — with optimism, and inspiring tweets.

Twitter on Tuesday announced its top trends for the UAE in 2020, and while it was a foregone conclusion which topic trended wildly in the year, this does not overshadow the fact that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has continued to lead with fervour amid the most challenging time in this era.

Sheikh Mohammed has used Twitter not just to update UAE residents on the latest developments in the country, be they on policies, new initiatives or other important announcements: He has also used the platform to inspire people.

His account — @HHShkMohd, with a 10-million-plus strong following — took the lead in tweets in the UAE, and with high engagement. His most-liked tweet of the year was sharing his prayers and condolences with the people of Lebanon, following the Beirut explosion.

A number of important initiatives were also announced on the platform, including the inauguration of Al Wasl Plaza, the heart of the Expo 2020 Dubai site; the launch of a 'Mystery Shopper' app to rate government services; the conclusion of the 10 Million Meals initiative, which easily exceeded its target figure; the launch of the New Media Academy and the launch of the UAE’s first independent biomedical research centre, the Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Medical Research.

And with the UAE’s push into space, Sheikh Mohammed also used Twitter to highlight several of the country’s programmes, including the completion of the Hope probe’s transfer to its launch site at the space station on Tanegashima Island in Japan; the successful launch of the Hope Mars probe; the signing of an agreement with Nasa to train Emirati astronauts for potential missions to the International Space Station; the launch of the first Emirati and Arab mission to explore the moon, the Emirates Lunar Mission; the announcement of the second Emirati satellite, MBZ-SAT; and the announcement of the exact arrival date and time of the country's Hope probe.

His latest tweet on the ongoing Gitex Technology Week, praising the event as the most important this year while touting the UAE to be the fastest to recover from coronavirus thanks to its institutions’ ability to adapt, has served as an inspiring springboard for 2021 — the UAE’s golden jubilee.

And no surprise, the hashtags that dominated the year was #coronavirus, with its Arabic translation coming second. #youareresponsible also made two appearances, in Arabic at third and English at fifth. Rounding out the top hashtags were #stayathome at fourth and #quarantine at sixth.

The UAE government accounts that grew the fastest, meanwhile, were UAE Government (@UAEGov), Dubai Police (@DubaiPoliceHQ), Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice), Ministry of Interior (@MOIUAE), Abu Dhabi Police (@ADPoliceHQ) and Dubai Health Authority (@DHA_Dubai).

— alvin@khaleejtimes.com